Monday, August 31, 2009

Fantasy Land 2009

Judging by my own personal work life, it certainly seems like the economy has turned a corner.

Normally these last two weeks of ‘summer’* are as dead as the holiday season. Not so this year. I’ve been crazy busy the last week and a half. I had chalked it up to returning from vacation, but most of my work has been newly created and not leftovers.

* Why Labor Day marks the end of summer always confused me. We still have a solid month of great weather left. It must be due to school starting off again, but more and more cities and towns are going back before Labor Day. Like Daylight Savings and our entire electoral process, I think it’s time to re-evaluate the reason we do things.

Since I’m insanely busy again today, a quick rundown of my first fantasy draft which took place Saturday.

Judging by the final rosters, this should be one of the most competitive seasons ever.

1: Drew Brees: Convinced I needed one of the top three quarterbacks in order to have any shot this year, I took Brees with my first pick. Before you criticize, my first pick was eighth overall.

2: David Gerrard: Hey, he’s my backup and he had a decent year last season despite a terrible team.

Running Backs

1: Marion Barber: Everyone seems down on him this year, but I can’t figure out why. Dallas should have plenty of looks for both him, Felix Jones and Jason Whitten. In fact, now that cry baby Owens is gone, the screen pass to Barber and Jones should be run far more often. I also like that Barber is a solid receiver.

2: Kevin Smith: After watching Stafford light it up for over 300 yards (and 3 ints), I think Smith is going to have a great year. Look at what he did with Dante Culpepper as his QB last year.

3: Jonathan Stewart: For whatever reason, Stewart was still sitting in the seventh round. I know he’s got a sore Achilles or something, but this is still Jonathan Stewart we’re talking about. Round seven?

4: LeSean McCoy: Rookie from Philly who everyone says looks like a young, faster Brian Westbrook. While this may make me look like an in depth know it all, the sole reason I took him is because my buddy took Westbrook and I know he’ll be begging me for a trade when Westbrook gets hurt again this year. Can’t wait.

5: Willie Parker: I know he gets hurt, but he lasted longer than Jonathan Stewart. I think it was round 10 and Parker was still on the board. Is there something I don't know?

Wide Receivers

1: Andre Johnson: Love this guy and actually snagged him with my second pick. There are so many good running backs I wanted to get a top three QB and top three WR on my team. Just wait, it gets better.

2: Marques Colston: Boo yeah! Healthy and productive, I somehow managed to snag him in round 6. The comish of our league was writing everyone’s teams down to keep track and had this response: ‘Wait, this means you have Colston and Brees?’ which led to the rest of the guys grumbling and my best man explicitly saying ‘You fuck!’. Highlight of my day.

Side note: There is a trap people fall into when people start drafting certain position players. Someone drafted Jason Whitten in the fifth round and it started an avalanche of tight end picks. It was the fifth fucking round. Let’s not panic. I fell into the trap with wide receivers last season and wound up with crappy running backs.

The best thing I did this year was write down the rounds so I knew where we were. Then I mentally told myself not to draft a tight end until the 12th round or later.

4: Josh Morgan: Oh, yeah. Got my boy in the 13th round. The best was nobody had heard of him which could very well mean I’m a total idiot. I should point out that Crabtree still hasn’t signed. Yay for me!

Tight End

John Carlson: Seattle is going to be much improved and he should be very good for me.

Defense/Special Teams

Carolina: Whatever. Figured I'd give them a shot. Can always trade up later if needed.

Kicker

Do you really care? Nate Kaeding who should benefit from all of Vincent Jackson’s touchdowns.

Overall I’m happy with my team. But things can always change in a hurry.

One more random note.

Matthew Berry totally fucked me over by updating his Love/Hate column the day before my draft. And who does he put at the top of his Love list? Beanie Wells who I wanted to steal in the later rounds. When did he go? In the fifth fucking round!! I’m convinced that was no coincidence.